Iran dismisses impact of sanctions

TEHRAN - Iranian officials on Thursday dismissed the impact of Western sanctions on the Islamic republic but said that the country does not seek revenge on Europeans over European Union's oil embargo.

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Fereidoon Abbasi, said Thursday that the new round of oil sanctions by the EU against the Islamic republic will have no impact on the country 's nuclear advancements, Press TV reported.

"Many scientific and industrial technologies in the country, including the nuclear energy industry, have developed and achieved self-sufficiency despite the 30-year (Western) sanctions; therefore, the new sanctions will have no impact on the continuity of these activities," Abbasi was quoted as saying.

He dismissed the possibility that the new sanctions would force Iran into submission to the West's demands, said the report.

Iranian experts will counter the new sanctions and continue on their path of success, said Abbasi who is also a vice president.

In January, the EU foreign ministers approved new sanctions against Tehran, which prevent its member states from buying the Iranian crude. The sanctions went into effect on Sunday.

Also, an Iranian lawmaker said that the West is the loser of anti-Iran sanctions, Press TV reported on Thursday.

Abed Fattahi described Iran's economic infrastructure as "solid and growing," noting that Western countries will ultimately lose in their sanctions against the Islamic republic.

The EU countries will eventually regret losing Iranian oil supplies and prompting a runaway price hike for this vital commodity, Fattahi was quoted as saying.

The Islamic republic, however, enjoys "a totally sound economic stability and an active diplomacy," which enable it to field other buyers for its oil to replace its Western customers, he said.

The Iranian lawmaker added that the principal aim of new Western sanctions against Iran was "nothing other than forcing the country to surrender to the global hegemony's greed," said the report.

The Iranian nation has acclimatized itself to various sanction ploys by its enemies, the lawmaker maintained.

Moreover, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that Iran does not seek revenge on Europeans over EU's oil embargo on the Islamic republic, local media reported Thursday.

Ahmadinejad reprimanded the EU for their hostile policies against the Islamic republic, saying the country has never sought to avenge Europe's imposition of hardships, Press TV reported on Thursday.

It is not clear what the European countries and EU will benefit from their enmity and opposition to Iran, said Ahmadinejad in a meeting with the new Portuguese ambassador to Iran, Mario Fernando Damash Nunes, on Wednesday.

The international relations need to be built on friendship and mutual respect among governments and nations, he was quoted as saying.

The Portuguese ambassador submitted his credentials to the Iranian president and called for enhanced bilateral relations in areas of politics, culture, sports and academy.

He expressed hope that the 27-nation EU would revisit its position on Iran, saying his respective country supports the rights of the Iranian people and their peace and security, according to Press TV.